Everyone is Everything

Everyone is Everything: Getting Naked Before the World to Prove It!

I spent five days with a regression therapist in January 1999 to understand the patterns of my life. I worked with a writing group to find a way to convey the experiences of my past lives in relation to my current life. Many of my current life characters chose to play with me in the past. If you don’t believe in past lives, think of the various scenarios as stories created in my imagination.

The beginning of the book

I cinched my purple robe closed in the small dressing room and took a deep breath before I opened the door to the studio. I would soon be removing it to be naked for my first modeling experience. I walked to the four foot high modeling table with a glass top covered with a sheet. Using a crate, I climbed to the platform, undid my belt and stood naked for the first time in front of strangers. I looked at the collection of artists poised to start warm-up gesture and said, “Hi, I’m Patricia.” They introduced themselves and I started.

Every fifteen seconds, I changed my position and stopped. After doing this for a few minutes, I moved into longer poses, first five minutes and eventually twenty. When needed, I returned several times for the artists to finish their renditions.

The chill of the California winter made the two heaters at my back necessary. Keeping the model happy seemed the preeminent concern of Ann, the owner of the studio, and the artists focused on drawing me.

For my comfort, I brought an additional cover for the hard surface. Staying still for long periods often brought parts of my body to numbness. My soreness afterwards made me understand that being still involved muscles I seldom used. I focused on a spot on the wall to quiet my mind and to stop any movement. The artists never objected if I had to move to get more comfortable. These artists talked with each other. I often joined in their conversations, which helped pass the three hour session.

My first modeling episode coincided with sharing a piece of this book on the web with other authors. I found the experience of being naked dramatically more comfortable than exposing my soul through my writing. Removing my robe showed my outer covering for this lifetime, but my writing shared the patterns of my spirit’s journey through many lives.

I continued to write and model. What was more vulnerable than a naked person? My body, with its curves and rolls, reflected the trials and tribulations of this life, the sum of my experiences.

Everyone is everything. We are all innocent. We are all guilty. We are whole, complete, and perfect. We’re here to have experiences. None are right, none are wrong. They just are.

Painting used for the Cover

The painting comes from one of the artists at the Life Drawing class. Terry Chacon painted this in twenty minutes on a piece of wood. I so loved the painting that I used it, with her permission, as the cover of my book, and now hangs on my living room wall.